We will understand this lesson with the help of the adjoiningpicture. It  is a wonderful story of how the souls, who once were deities became the  devotees and very ordinary human beings. It also explains how they lost  the divine virtues, spiritual and moral values and developed devilish  tendencies. The illustration shows that originally, human souls had  complete purity, peace and prosperity and that they became defiled and  peaceless later.&nbsp; Now it is time to again inculcate those lost virtues.<br />
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First  of all is shown the Golden Age or the Satyuga, which is completely  righteous. Shri Lakshmi and Shri Narayana and their dynasty ruled the  world free from disease, sorrow, worry or vice. The people then had  truly virtuous nature and outlook. During this period of 1250 years, the  average age was 150 years. In this epoch, the people are most elevated,  completely viceless and are invested with all good qualities and live  under Divine Law. These people are considered to be class of deities.<br />
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Next  comes Silver Age. In this&nbsp; epoch of 1250 years, average age of a person  varies from 100 to 125 years. All are happy in this period as well.  They have the rank of what are called Kshatriyas because they are not as  pure as their predecessors &ndash; the deities.<br />
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Then in the Copper  Age, they become body-conscious and are led to vices. So they have a  fall, from a deity&rsquo;s position which is worship-worthy exalted position  to be just supplicant men or poor worshippers. Their rank is of middle  class or Rajopradhana type. Their position is that of &lsquo;Vaishyas&rsquo;  &ndash;mediocre.<br />
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After this comes the Iron Age (Kaliyuga). The picture  represents how in this epoch, Maya which symbolizes the vices, has grown  in power over the world. In Iron Age, tamoguna, the basest form in man &ndash;  is pre-dominant. All the persons are ranked as Shudras. In this epoch  of 1250 years, there are 42 births. In this era, we see disputes and  strifes, based on want of respect for authority and differences in  ideology, religion, states and languages. People do not look upon one  another as spiritual brothers and are thus turned away from God, who is  the Supreme Father.<br />
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At present, we are in the Confluence Age &ndash;  the confluence of the fag end of the Kaliyuga and the dawn of Satyuga or  the Golden Age. This is the time to receive Divine Knowledge from God  and practise spiritual discipline and easy Raja Yoga and re-acquire  deity status. When the Iron Age is very near it&rsquo;s end, unrighteousness  is eliminated to make room for Righteousness (Dharma) and the  deity-world. With this comes the Golden Age.